Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says it’s scary to live in the town with cars stolen, ram raids and people walking around with edged weapons

Transcript

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson says it’s scary to live in the town with cars stolen, ram raids and people walking around with edged weapons · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Mayor
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: of Alice Springs, Matt Patterson.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Matt, Good morning Katie.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Matt, thanks so much for your time. Mate.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: You have been screaming out about the issues in Alice
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Springs for I reckon over a year. You must be
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: pleased that we are finally getting some national attention and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: finally or in a situation where the Prime Minister turned
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: up yesterday.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I've been in the role for about
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: fourteen months or fifteen months. I think since day one,
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: it's been the top of everyone's priory. I mean, we
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: just can't continue to live like this Gadian. When I
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: say that it's scary, it's actually scary to live here.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: You know, we go in these cycles of the waves
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: of crime. We see and broken windows and broke stolen
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  Speaker 3: cars and then ram raids and now we just see
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  Speaker 3: people walking around with edged weapons, and you know, it's
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: unbelievable to think that that's happening in the Northern Territory
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: Springs in twenty twenty three.
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  Speaker 1: It's atrocious and it's totally unacceptable. And I've got to
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: tell you, over the last few months, you know, I've
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: heard the likes of the government say, ah, these issues
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: in other places, like in North Queensland. You know, I've
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: just come back from Cans and I'm telling you right now,
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  Speaker 1: I didn't see people sitting around getting drunk, didn't see
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  Speaker 1: people walking around with edged weapons, and I certainly did
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  Speaker 1: not feel unsafe walking around the strait or along the
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: esplanade late at night.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, what's happening. It is atrocious, Katie. And
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  Speaker 3: you know you see domestic violence just you know, by
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  Speaker 3: e spelting women in broad daylight. You know, just you
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  Speaker 3: can't fathom to live like this. It's just incredible, and
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: you know, we need change and you know, we need
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  Speaker 3: people to feel safe. We just want it to go
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: back to the other springs of old. I mean, we
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: had a council meeting yesterday, Katie, and question time took
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: an hour and forty five minutes. People just come in
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  Speaker 3: and really just shared their frustrations and talked about their experiences.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: And there are some pretty harrowing experiences that people have
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  Speaker 3: lived through and yeah, I mean that's happening here. So
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: it was obviously quite good that the Prime Minister was
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: here to hear from people you hear some of the concerns,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: but we'll wait and see if it counters for any changes.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Matt, I mean.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Great that he was there, but five hours, I mean
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the plane ride probably took longer. Did he actually get
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: a true gauge of what's going on in our springs.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: I would have liked for him to any longer clearly
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  Speaker 3: and walk around and speak to business and people who
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: are most effected, know the mums and duds who have
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: woken up with intruders in their bedroom, or the businesses
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: that continue to get broken into or reimnated, all those
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: sort of things. You know. I do appreciate that he
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: is a very busy man and there's obviously a snap
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: decision to come here, so it's clearly better than nothing.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: But I'm hoping he'll be back in the near future
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  Speaker 3: to have a look at the changes that have been
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: made and see if it's made our lives any better whatsoever.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Let's look at those changes. We know that he was
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: joined with the Chief Minister yesterday at that press conference.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: They announced that Monday and Tuesdays are going to be
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: takeaway alcohol three days in Alice Springs. There will be
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: alcohol reduced hours on the remaining days from three pm
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: until seven pm only for takeaway alcohol. The government's also
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: going to introduce one transaction per person each day, doing
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: so immediately through the Band Drinker Register. These restrictions, of
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: course on the purchase of alcohol, they're going to be
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: in place for three months. They've also said that they're
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: going to consider implementing community wide opt out alcohol bands
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: with a newly appointed regional controller. Matt, what do you
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: make of those changes?
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: Oh, there's a few things. I mean in the room
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: is the town camps and the lapsing of stronger futures,
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  Speaker 3: and that's when we've you know, we've opened up the
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  Speaker 3: rivers of grog to the town camps in our springs. Katie.
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  Speaker 3: Now we can't you know, the government can say that
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  Speaker 3: they're doing alcohol reform, but that they can't say that
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  Speaker 3: on one hand and then keep stronger futures happening on
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  Speaker 3: the other hand. And I mean, clearly it's a it's
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  Speaker 3: a massive issue and it's sensitive issue, but we know
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  Speaker 3: that it worked, It shouldn't have lapsed. They will begged
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: from organizations not to take it away and they have,
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  Speaker 3: so they certainly need to address that in regards to
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  Speaker 3: the changes that have been put forward Monday and Tuesday. Look,
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  Speaker 3: the cynic in me says that it won't work, But
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  Speaker 3: I'm happy to come onto this program if it does
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  Speaker 3: work and say that it's you know, I was wrong,
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  Speaker 3: But we're saying we already see breakings at you know,
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  Speaker 3: two or three am overnight for people wanting alcohol. So
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  Speaker 3: what's going to happen when we take it away from
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  Speaker 3: them for two days? So you know, I'm on very
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: fearful that it puts further strain on business too. We'll
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  Speaker 3: get broken into and alcohol will be harder to come by.
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  Speaker 3: Therefore there'll be more breaking. But no, wait and see.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: And I really do hope that for this one time, Katie,
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  Speaker 3: I really hope I'm wrong.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Oh same mate, I hope that we are.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I really really hope that you know that the announcement
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: that the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister made yesterday
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  Speaker 1: actually makes a difference.
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  Speaker 2: But I'm sorry to say that, you know, the past record.
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  Speaker 1: Over the last six months, over the last year has
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  Speaker 1: not really shown us that anything's working. In fact, I
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: would argue, and I'm sure you would argue that things
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: have gotten worse.
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  Speaker 3: Oh really, I mean since July seventeen. We were already
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  Speaker 3: on a slow burn like that, you know, we were
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  Speaker 3: already going downhill at at slow burn rate, relapsing the
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  Speaker 3: stronger futures. It blows your mind what's happening in town.
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  Speaker 3: But I want to say, if alcohol is the problem,
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: if our cohol is the problem, here, what you're going
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: through in Darlin, Katie, it was Alice Springs twelve months ago. Like,
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  Speaker 3: I don't want to send her a wave of fear
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  Speaker 3: through Darwin, but what was happening in Alice Springs twelve
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  Speaker 3: months ago is what you guys are going through now.
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  Speaker 3: So what you know, if olcohol is the problem, then
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  Speaker 3: it should be territory wide changes Monday Tuesday, and then
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: see if you know crime rates drop in Darwin, because
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: it's not all roses up there either.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: It's certainly not that we can attest to that. There
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: is no doubt about it, and your spot on you know,
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  Speaker 1: we say we've got a crime crisis in Alice Springs
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  Speaker 1: and there is no doubt that you guys are suffering
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  Speaker 1: worse than anybody at the moment. But what's happening up
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  Speaker 1: here in the top end is no good either, And
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  Speaker 1: the government seriously needs to listen to what territorians are saying.
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  Speaker 2: I take on board that obviously.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's a good thing that the Prime Minister
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  Speaker 1: was there yesterday and trying to listen to locals in Alice.
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  Speaker 1: But he is dead wrong if he thinks that there's
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  Speaker 1: only issues in Alice Springs.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right, And I mean, you know, I use
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: the fire analogy, but the two fires burning here, Kit
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: There's one is the alcohol and yes, our coal is
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: a problem. But there's two, which is the any social behavior. Right,
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  Speaker 3: so just by removing our cohol doesn't address you know,
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  Speaker 3: having five and six year olds on the street late
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  Speaker 3: at night. So you know, we it addresses the alcohol
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  Speaker 3: issues with the announcement yesterday, but it certainly doesn't help
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  Speaker 3: address the any social behavior stuff. So I've made the
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: plea that we need more resources down here. We've seen
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  Speaker 3: an operation Drina. The perception in the community is there
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  Speaker 3: was a visual presence of police and so the perception
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: was that people felt safer. Unfortunately, we heard that it
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: wasn't sustainable to keep those police on the ground in
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  Speaker 3: Alice Springs. Well, my response to that is it's not
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  Speaker 3: sustainable in Alice Springs to continue to face this level
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  Speaker 3: of any social behavior and crime that happens every minute
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  Speaker 3: of every day.
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  Speaker 1: Matt were there was certainly sort of the suggestion, I
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: think you'd have to say yesterday that there was a
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  Speaker 1: massive clean up around Alice Springs before the Prime Minister arrived.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any further detail or do you think
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  Speaker 1: that the way that the town was presented was a
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  Speaker 1: true indication of how things.
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  Speaker 2: Have been of late.
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  Speaker 3: Look, we obviously see more police on the ground last
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: week when the Commissioner and Minister Worden we're here. We're
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: seeing the horses. We've got a horse patrol, right, We've
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: seen that during Operation Drina. We hadn't seen it again
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: until Friday when they were here. So clearly there's more
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: police when for obvious reasons, when the Prime Minister is here.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: But yeah, there was certainly less people on the street yesterday.
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  Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean, to be fair, the Prime Minister
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  Speaker 3: didn't really see much of the town because he was
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  Speaker 3: in an office the whole time he was here, so
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: it just basically went from the airport to the office
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  Speaker 3: and then back again. So look, I apparently there was
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: you know, people picked up and no doubt of the
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  Speaker 3: CBD but I can't confirm that, Matt.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: We know that this role of the regional controller is
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: going to be filled by Darrell Anderson. She's got basically
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: the next week to have a really good look at
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  Speaker 1: how things are happening in Alice. What do you think
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  Speaker 1: is going to happen come the first of February.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure. You know, Durrell's a pretty good operator,
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  Speaker 3: so I will share the best of luck in that role,
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: and you know, we'll wait and see what happened in
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: the first to save I suppose well.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Matt Patterson, the mayor of Alice Springs, we appreciate your
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: time this morning, but we appreciate all the time you've
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: given us over the last year as well.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I'm.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: Pleased to see that this issue has gained the national
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: significance and importance that it deserves right now, because you
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: and I have been banging on about it on this
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  Speaker 1: show on numerous occasions. So I'm really very pleased that
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: right around the nation people have a better understanding of
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: what's going on in the Red Center, and I really
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: hope that there is some change for the good.
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, And you know, as I've said many times,
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  Speaker 3: we can't because like this, we can't be scared to
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  Speaker 3: go to sleep in our own bed because we don't
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  Speaker 3: know what's going to happen that night. And thank you
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: for your support and covering it all. But we just
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: need to make sure that this isn't just a new
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: cycle for national media, that we continue on pressing it.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: So I think that's the only way it's going to change.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: Spot on pushing the barrow, So.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Spot on your no worries at all. Well, Matt Patterson,
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: we appreciate your time. Thanks very much for speaking to
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: us this morning.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you,